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Ann Harroun: A Dead Skunk Party would be better than this

Posted:
10/19/2017 10:03:12 PM MDT

Updated:
10/19/2017 10:10:38 PM MDT

I have been a Republican and a Democrat; now I'm unaffiliated. Years ago, when I supported "the middle of the road," I was told that "the only things in the middle of the road are wimps and dead skunks." OK, I thought, "Maybe we need a Dead Skunk Party."

Things have gone downhill since, to the point where our extreme divisiveness is making us a laughing stock among nations.

Party A sets up a health care system. Party B kills it. Party A creates a new one. Party B. .... This drives insurers and subscribers crazy.

Party A joins other nations in a trade agreement. Party B kills it. When this proves disastrous for our farmers, Party A tries to renegotiate — but by then the other nations have gone off without us, and the USA is left in the dust. The same is true for climate change and the nuclear agreement with Iran. Fewer nations trust us, and mutual trust is essential for peace and security.

We cannot keep bouncing back and forth like a ping-pong ball. It makes us look ridiculous, it gums up the works, and it undermines the very idea of a two-party democracy. We don't want one-party rule like Russia or China, and it would be a lot of work to convert to a parliamentary system. Perhaps it's time to give bipartisanship a try. If not, perhaps the Dead Skunk Party is not so silly after all.

The Boulder alt-country band gives its EPs names such as Death and Resurrection, and its songs bear the mark of hard truths and sin. But the punk energy behind the playing, and the sense that it's all in good fun, make it OK to dance to a song like "Death." Full Story